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by HealthInspector



Series: PMD Writings [8]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Family, Gen, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon Spoilers, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26992759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealthInspector/pseuds/HealthInspector
Summary: (MAJOR PSMD SPOILERS)Saying goodbye had never been the hard part. Vallea had parted with her home, her friends, and even her life. It had been tough, but she'd done it all the same. But her farewell, originally meant to last forever, has come to an abrupt end thanks to the efforts of everyone she had previously helped. She should be grateful, and she is. But she's scared, too. Scared that she won't be allowed to come home after her disappearance.
Series: PMD Writings [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1395541
Kudos: 9





	Home

Vallea still wasn’t sure if her resurrection was real, or if she was just experiencing a fever dream constructed by her failing mind. The Riolu had pinched herself at least seven times in the last hour, but she didn’t wake up. That meant one of two things: Either she was actually back, or the events of the previous few days were a hallucination that she simply couldn't escape. A small, illogical part of her expected it to be the latter. To fully accept that she was alive again, that she could see the ones she loved, it was almost too much. Maybe she really was back, but only for a while, and she’d vanish again in the blink of an eye. What would happen then?

For a moment she was back on that hill overlooking her home, her body disintegrating into tiny sparks of light.

“You have to push the door to open it.”

The moment passed. She looked over her shoulder and spotted the Treecko who had spoken. Aster stood with his arms crossed, his expression as empty as ever. A breeze blew past them, cooled by the summer night. Turning back to her own front door, she tried to find the words to express what she was feeling. It was her home, had been for all her life, and yet she still couldn’t muster up the courage to enter and face its only occupant. There was only one aura behind the door; she knew exactly whose it was. Carracosta. Her father.

“Do you think he’ll hate me?” she said. “I went and disappeared without any warning, not even a goodbye. Maybe… Maybe he’s better off without me.”

“What are you talking about? Why would your own dad hate you?”

“All my life, I only made messes and caused problems for everyone. I lost count of how many times I did something really stupid, and sometimes it was just to make him mad. Remember that one time we wrecked his garden? Or that time I accidentally shattered Nuzleaf’s window? And there was that one time I got really angry and told him I wished he never adopted me. My disappearance was another problem to add onto the pile. Maybe I should stay away so I can’t hurt him anymore.”

“Vallea.” There was a pause as his aura shifted in place. “This vanishing thing wasn't your fault. It's not like you chose to leave. If the representation of life itself tells you that you have to go, you have to go.”

“No, you don't understand,” she said, then turned to face him. “This wasn’t Xerneas’s decision. They were just fulfilling a promise that they’d made to Mew. To me. All those centuries ago, back when I was Mew, I decided that I would disappear after stopping Dark Matter for good. This… This body of mine, it was just supposed to be a temporary vessel! My reincarnation, this entire life, it was all a setup so that I could finally finish what I had started! And once I did my job, I’d vanish so that Mew could come back and replace me! The choice was mine! Nobody else’s! So don’t tell me it’s not my fault, because it absolutely is!”

The Riolu was shouting at the end, her paws clenched into fists. A small frown made its way onto her partner’s face as his gaze fell to the floor. She realized what she’d done. Another mistake. Another friend she’d hurt.

“I’m sorry—” she began, but Aster cut her off.

“Would you have chosen it?”

“What?”

“If you could’ve decided whether you wanted to disappear when Xerneas came to see you, would you have gone through with it?”

“Of course not.”

He smiled. “Things changed, right? It was a past life, and we didn’t know enough back then.”

It took her a moment to realize what he meant. The reincarnation had been decided upon centuries ago. How could she had known at the time that she’d create a whole new life, separate from Mew? Her heart felt a little lighter, and her breath came a little easier. “Do you think he feels the same way?” she said.

“He’s a thousand times smarter than I am. Of course he does.”

“And that whole business where I was Mew but I’m not anymore, will he believe it?”

The Treecko gestured towards the door. “Go and ask him.” Vallea didn’t think she was smiling, but it was definitely something close. It wasn’t completely okay, not yet. But it would be if she moved forward.

The door was as stubborn and creaky as she remembered it being. It took a hard push to open it.

It was as though Vallea had traveled back in time to a different summer night, when she had been small and the world had seemed comforting instead of vulnerable. Everything in her house was just the way she remembered it. Carracosta was sitting in his rocking chair in the corner of the living room. He was asleep, all sharp edges and cragged blue scales beneath a thick, dark, rocky shell. A book lay open in his lap and a candle flickered weakly next to a cup of cold tea on the small table next to him. A deep anxiety grew in her chest. What if he’d hate her when he woke up? She turned back to Aster, who only glared at her.

 _What’re you waiting for?_ He didn’t say it, but she could tell he wanted to.

She stepped across the doorstep. Into her house. Her home. She was home.

Her father was still asleep in his old chair. He was so close and a great distance away from her at the same time. How would he react to her return? Maybe he would scold her. Maybe he’d get absolutely furious, more than he’d ever been in his entire life. Or worse, he’d be so disappointed, he'd pretend she didn’t exist.

 _Or maybe he'll be happy_ , said a little voice in the back of her mind.

Something behind her made a long, drawn-out creak. She turned to find Aster in the middle of shutting the door. He gave her a thumbs up, then closed it fully and left her alone with her father in the house. Her house. Specks of dust hung in the air and settled on the floorboards and furniture, the result of her father not cleaning as much as he used to. She wondered why.

A few quiet steps later, the Riolu was standing at her father’s side. When she had been little, the top of her head would barely reach the armrest of his chair. Whenever she was sad or bored, or she simply wanted his attention, she'd tug on his flipper and he’d reach down to sweep her up into the air and make everything okay. She couldn't remember the last time he’d done that. That wasn't surprising. Time made her grow bigger while age made him seem smaller and somehow frailer, like a boulder eroded by the river it sat in. Now she was as tall as he was, at least when he was sitting. She doubted he’d ever sweep her up again. Things changed, and they didn’t change back. But sometimes, they got better. She grabbed the part of her father’s shell that jut out and gently shook it. A deep grumble came from Carracosta and his flipper flopped limply, as if to shoo away whatever was bugging him. “Pops,” she whispered. “Wake up.”

His eyes opened a crack, then he gasped and stood up so fast that the book on his lap went flying and the rocking chair tilted back too far. They fell onto the floor with a loud crash, but his attention was focused solely on her. He reached out for her slowly, as if she was an apparition that he would scare away if he moved too suddenly. A flipper came to rest gingerly on her shoulder, his aura swirling around itself like a whirlpool.

“Is it really you?” he murmured. “Vallea?” 

Her tears built up and left tracks on her face where they fell. “It’s me,” she said, then wiped her eyes. “I-I’m back, Pops.” 

It was silent for a moment. Carracosta stood still as a statue, his gaze affixed on her. She realized he was crying, too. “My child,” he whispered, then pulled her into a hug. He wasn’t mad, or even annoyed. The knowledge that her own father was happy to see her was almost too much for her to bear.

She hugged him back. 

**Author's Note:**

> if AO3 could stop deleting my line breaks for 5 minutes, that would be great


End file.
